Louis levi



L. LEVI.l

GIGAR BOX.

Patented Apr. 13, 1886.

(No Model.)

vla WIL IYM/ Imran raras ATENT trice:a

LOUIS LEVI, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

CIGAR-BOX.

iilCIFILiTON forming part of Letters Patent No. 339,792, dated Apri113,1886.

Application filed December 16, 1885. Serial No. 1S5,b73. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS LEVI, ofthe city and county of N ew York, inthe State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement inCigar-Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

Expensive and ornamental boxes and showcases for cigars have been madewith a false perforated bottom or plate above the bottom proper, so asto form a compartment into which may be slid a drawer containingmoistened blotting-paper or other absorbent material containingmoisture. Such a construct-ion, although suitable for showcases andfancy metal or wood boxes for holding cigars, and to be many timesrefilled, is not practicable for ordinary cigar-boxes in which cigarsare packed and sold, because the construc-A tion of the box with asliding drawer and a compartment to receive it add considerably to itscost and materially increase the depth of the box, so that more room isrequired for packing a number of boxes.

The object of my invention is to provide a cigar-box which will containprovision for keeping the contents moist, and which is not materiallyincreased in cost or bulk over the ordinary boxes, whereby I enablemanufacturers, without raising their prices and without sacrificing anymaterial part of their profits, to pack and sell their cigars in myimproved boxes.

The invention consists, essentially, in a cigar-box having a falseperforated bottom arranged parallel with and at an approximately uniformdistance from the bottom proper throughout its extent, thereby forningbetween it and the bottom proper a very shallow compartment, open at oneside of the box, and a simple cover or shutter for closing the openingafter a sheet of blotting-paper or analogous absorbent material has beeninserted into the said compartment. I prefer to make the box with adovetailed or rabbeted slidcway at the side opening, and to close theopening by a simple sliding shutter or strip fitting the slideway.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l represents a box embodying myinvention, the sliding shutter or covering-strip being partly withdrawn;and Figs. 2 and 3 are vertical sections of the box in planes at rightaugles to each other.

Similar letters of reference desi gnate corresponding parts in all thefigures.

A designates the body of the box, which is closed by the usual lid, B,and at one of the sides of which is a narrow horizontal slot or opening,a, very near or close to the bottom proper, C.

At a point but very little above the bottom proper, C, is a falsebottom, C', which is perforated throughout, and which may be held inplace in any suitable manner.

As here shown,the front and back sides of the box are internally groovedat b, and the false bottom C is slid into place through the slot oropening a and into these grooves. In this or any equivalent manner Iconstruct in the box and between the perforated false bottom or plate Candthe bottom proper, C, a very shallow compartment, c, which need onlybe deep enough to receive one or two sheets of blottingpaper or otherabsorbent material, d. The compartment c need not rbe at most more thanan eighth of an inch in depth, and the false perforated bottom C' isarranged parallel with and at an approximately uniform distance from thebottom proper, C, throughout its extent.

The slot or opening a is closed by a simple cover or shutter, D, whichforms no part of a drawer and is complete in itself. I prefer todovetail or rabbet the opposite walls of the slot or opening a, so as toform a slideway into and out of which the correspondingly dovctailed orrabbeted cover, shutter, or strip D may be conveniently slid to close orexpose the slot or opening a, and to permit the blotting-paper or otherabsorbent material d to be readily placed in or removed from thecompartment 0.

It will be seen that by my invention I dispense entirely with anydrawer, and enable the compartment c to be made very much less in depththan would be possible were a drawer used. I thus reduce the cost of thebox and the bulk which it occupies and provide a box in which cigars maybe packed and sold by manufacturers ot' cigars without raising theirprices or materially reducing their profits.

The manufacturer or packer of cigars may IOO y meisten and place in thecompartment c the blotting-paper or absorbent material, and thepurchaser at retail may removethe absorbent material and meisten andreplace it as often as may be necessaryv to keep the cigars in propercondition.

`1f desired, the box of cigars may be sold with the compartment empty,and the purchaser at retail, by paying no more than the price of thecigars in an ordinary box, will have a box into the compartment c ofwhich he may introduce a sheet orpiece of blotting paper to keep thecigars moist.

I am aware of Letters Patent No, 219,819, granted September 23, 1879, toKnowlton, and I dovnot desire to include in my invention the box orshow-case therein shown. Thatpatent shows and describes a show-casehavingv an inclined glass top or front, and constructed with a series ofsteps or shelves, one above and behind another, the series of steppedshelves constituting a partition below. which is a large compartment ofirregular shape, to which access is had by a hinged door at the back ofthe case. y

I am also aware of Letters Patent No.

` 303,069, granted August 5, 1884, to Swift, and

I do not desire to include in my invention such a box or show-case as istherein shown. In that patent there is a perforated false bottom,forming below it a compartment, to which is fitted a sliding drawer ortray. The emfor closing the compartment, and if the drawer weredispensed with the case vwould have no means of closing the compartment.

The essential object of my'inventionhas not been to provide a showcase,but to provide a.plain cigar-box which would afford convenient provisionfor keeping the cigars moist, and which would not cost materiallyl morethan the ordinary cigar-box, so Vas t0 provide a box whichmanufacturerscould use without increasing their prices for cigars.

NVh-at I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. The cigar-box herein described, having a false perforated bottom, C',parallel with the bottom proper, and arranged at an approxi. matelyuniform distance therefrom through# out its extent, thereby forming avery shal- V slideway in which the opening is lformed, and I also havinga sliding strip or shutter for closing the opening, substantially as andfor the f purpose herein set forth.

' LOUIS LEVI. Witnesses:

FREDK. HAYNEs, HENRY McBRiDE.

